Thirteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

The University of Hawaii is the only school in the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) that is located in the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone, which is 3 hours behind the Pacific Standard Time (PST) Zone during Daylight Time and 2 hours behind during Standard Time. Based on previous research examining the effects of westward travel on team performance, this time difference has the potential to have an adverse impact on visiting teams that are scheduled to play in Hawaii. Specifically, visiting teams playing a night game in Hawaii may partially succumb to feelings of sleep pressure and/or the misalignment of their circadian rhythm. These disruptions have been found to increase errors, reduce the ability to maintain attention, and impair decision making in various contexts beyond sports (e.g., medicine, aviation, construction). Given this unique situation, our study examines how visiting teams are impacted by playing games in the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone. The current study utilizes performance data for visiting teams following the University of Hawaii’s move to the Mountain West Conference from the period of 2012 to 2019. Data from the 2020 and 2021 seasons will be excluded due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We predict that visiting teams playing night games in the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone show performance reductions as it relates to points scored, points allowed, and actual game outcomes.